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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bank · chest · date · cold · mine · ball · racket · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cold — an illness
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a dance
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. ball — a great time
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cold — not warm
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. mine — for digging
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bank — for money
  21. chest — a box
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com